He glanced toward the connecting door. "It's in the front room. You wanna take a look?"
Did I ever.Fueled by curiosity, I headed toward the front with Ryder trailing beside me. When I pushed through the swinging door, I spotted it immediately, a lovely bike in a glorious shade of sapphire blue with a woven basket perched on the front.
At the sight of it, I couldn't help but squeal. "Oh, my God!" My eyes went just a little misty. "That's seriously for me?"
Ryder laughed. "Well,I'mnot gonna ride it."
"I love it!" I whirled to look at him. "So you got it this morning?"
"Nah. It arrived last night. Special order."
It was so wonderful, I almost felt like crying. Breathlessly, I said, "It reallyisspecial…amazing actually."
His gaze warmed in the quiet shop. "Not as amazing asyou."
I snuck another glance at the bike. "But I almost feel guilty. I didn't get you anything."
"Hey, you got me yourself. That's more than enough." A glint of mischief appeared in his eyes. "You wanna knowwhyI got it?"
"Why?"
"Because I didn't want you to worry. You can scratch it, nick it, toss it in a flower bed, and you won't have to apologize to anyone."
It was one of the sweetest things I'd ever heard. "There's no way I'm sendingthatinto a flower bed. But wait…there's something I should've said already."
"What?"
"Thanks, seriously." And then, I threw my arms around him and kissed him right there behind the coffee counter, thanking my lucky stars that the blinds were firmly closed.
When the kiss ended, Ryder pulled back to say, "Sorry, gotta get ready for work."
"You mean…me?" Of course, he was right. Ididneed to start brewing.
"Nah. Me," he said. "I got a job."
"Oh, stop it," I laughed. "You did not."
"I did," he insisted. "You wanna guess where?"
I still didn't believe him, but if this was a joke, I was happy to play along. "Where?"
He gave me a rueful smile. "I'm the new Griff."
"Oh." Suddenly, it wasn't so far-fetched – or funny if it meant Griff was gone. "So, you're working at the bike shop? Really?"
"Yeah, but not for long."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because, one way or another, Griff will be back." His tone grew teasing. "Which will leavemeto focus onyou."
Just then, I heard a small clunk, followed by Skip calling out from somewhere in the back. "Hey! Who left a jacket in my recliner?"
There was no way I'd let Ryder take the blame, and I was just about to call back when Ryder beat me to the punch, calling out, "Hey! Who left a recliner under my jacket?"
Whatever Skip called in reply was drowned out by my own laughter as I tried to keep it together.
I'd barely stopped when Ryder glanced at his watch and said, "Damn. I've gotta go change."
